] Ever since the invention of the printing press,
] governments have tried to make an ally out of owners of
] the means of information distribution. That's as old a
] story as when the powers that be tried to suppress
] Gutenberg's Bible. Not because they didn't believe in
] the Bible, but because they didn't believe everyone
] should be able to get one. This is a 600-year-old
] story. It's not a new story. But it's news to the United
] States that one side should get this close to that goal.

Strong words from Reed Hundt about the new FCC media ownership rule changes. Ted Turner has also come out strongly opposed to this in recent days. Basically the deal is that soon all the TV will be owned by Fox in the same way that all the radio stations are owned by Clear Channel.

[IP] Former FCC chairman: Deregulation is a right-wing power grab

] Move over Spider-Man -- mere mortals may soon be coming
] to a ceiling near you.
]
] Researchers at the University of Manchester say they have
] cracked the secret of one of the reptile world's greatest
] climbers, the gecko, and produced a sticky tape that can
] mimic the lizard's gravity-defying abilities.
]
] Soon, people could walk on walls like comic-book
] superhero Spider-Man, the university said.
]
] "The new adhesive -- gecko tape -- contains billions of
] tiny plastic fibres which are similar to natural hairs
] covering the soles of geckos' feet," the University said
] in a statement.
]
] "The research team believes it won't be long before
] Spider-Man gloves become a reality."

Sign me up!

CNN.com - Scientists defy gravity with 'Spider-Man' gloves - Jun. 2, 2003

] The arrest of alleged Olympic bomber Eric Robert Rudolph
] may finally allow authorities to answer a question that
] has loomed since the beginning of the five-year hunt for
] him, but that has taken on deeper resonance since Sept.
] 11, 2001: Is he a "Christian terrorist"?

Ooh, I bet that phrase will raise some hackles in the Christian communities.

Was Rudolph%u2019s religion a factor?

Decius wrote:
] ] Federal authorities said today they have captured a man
] ] they believe to be suspected serial bomber Eric Robert
] ] Rudolph.
]
] Wow, they finally got him...

All I can say is, HELL YEA!!

I hate trying people in the court of public opinion, but based on what I've seen so far, the FBI has got the goods on this jackass.

I feel unusually strong about this, because, well... I was in Centennial Olympic Park the night the pipe bomb went off - just a couple hundred feet or less away. In fact I must have been right behind the guy with the video camera that captured it going off because that’s just about the vantage point I had, yet I've been unable to see myself in the video. I had walked thru the Swatch Pavilion (where the bomb went off) just about 10 minutes prior.

So I have a VERY personal vendetta here. As far as I'm concerned, he tried to kill ME and almost did.

Laughing Boy

RE: statesman.com | Olympic park bombing suspect captured

Laughing Boy wrote:
] ] Young girls at a mixed primary school in Somerset have
] ] been banned from wearing thongs and G-strings after the
] ] headteacher deemed them "inappropriate".
] ]
] ] Concerned Anna Roxburgh, head of Hamp Community Primary
] ] School in Bridgwater, wrote a letter to parents after she
] ] saw four 11-year-olds wearing the risqué underwear while
] ] changing after sport.
] ]
] ] She said the "revealing" items could lead to "possible
] ] embarrassment" if they fall over in the playground or are
] ] spotted by boys.
] ]
] ] Although some parents slammed her decision, the move was
] ] welcomed by children's welfare charity Kidscape which in
] ] the past has campaigned for the withdrawal of sexy
] ] underwear for pre-teens.
]
] OK... what kind of parent lets their 11 year old wear a thong?
] Never mind - likely the same type of parent like Patsy Ramsey
] that lets her 7 year old daughter be in swimsuit competitons
] for beauty pagents. It's just plain sick - and people wonder
] how/why peophiles exist?
]
] What the hell is wrong with people?

They think it's 'cute' for their little girls to be dressed up like little adult dolls. I guess they do it for attention since they can't dress like that, or something. I don't know - classless.

RE: UK: Headteacher Bans Young Pupils From Wearing Thongs

] ...Rutan said that, in looking toward the future, hopefully
] within ten years, ordinary people, for the cost of a
] luxury cruise, might be able experience a rocket flight
] into the black sky above the earth's atmosphere. In doing
] so, they can enjoy a few minutes of weightless
] excitement, "then feel the thunderous deceleration of the
] aerodynamic drag on entry."

Ground control to Major Tom ...

Private Spaceship Undergoes Sky-High Test

Dr. Demento fans will love this one.

Cows With Guns

] Michigan lawmakers took a tentative first step Wednesday
] to criminalize a bizarre high-tech weapon called the
] e-bomb, which sounds really scary but might not exist at
] all.
]
] Acting on the better-safe-than-sorry model of
] legislating, the House Criminal Justice Committee voted
] unanimously to add e-bombs -- also called electromagnetic
] bombs -- to Michigan's criminal code along with dynamite
] and other explosives.

The "better-safe-than-sorry model"? Interesting..

] At Wednesday's committee meeting, one witness used the
] movie "Ocean's 11," in which thieves use an e-bomb to
] disable electronics for a casino heist, as an example
] of its use.

... when Hollywood drives security awareness.

Michigan might ban high-tech weapon; Bills would add e-bomb to state's criminal code

] He said he discovered the problem this weekend through a
] random finding in a Sacramento Dumpster, where a Cingular
] store had discarded records about a customer's insurance
] claim for a lost phone. By simply typing in a URL listed
] on the detritus, Lamo was taken to the customer's claim
] page on a site run by lock\line LLC, which provides the
] claim management services to Cingular.
]
] Normally, this page should have been reachable only by
] passing through a password-protected gateway, but by
] simply entering the valid URL, Lamo discovered that
] individual claims pages could be accessed, no password
] authentication needed.
]
] Each page contained the customer's name, address and
] phone number, along with details on the insurance claim
] being made. Altering the claim ID numbers (which were
] assigned sequentially) in the URL gave Lamo access to the
] entire history of Cingular claims processed through
] lock\line, comprising some 2.5 million customer claims
] dating back to 1998.

Bet Cingular is embarassed as hell to be exposed by a wandering hacker. Later in the article it mentions that "Lamo, 22, doesn't have a permanent address. He wanders cross-country on foot or by public bus. Spring and summer usually bring him to Northern California. Until recently, he used terminals at Kinko's to perform his hacks. He has graduated to using a Wi-Fi-ready laptop at Starbucks to do his work."

Wired News: Lamo Hacks Cingular Claims Site

] SALT LAKE CITY, May 28 -As it does now and again,
] Utah is looking for a few good marksmen.
]
] A search for volunteers began early this month after a
] state judge signed death warrants for two convicted
] murderers who have requested death by firing squad. Utah
] is one of only three states, along with Idaho and
] Oklahoma, where execution by a team of riflemen is
] available as an alternative to lethal injection.

I couldn't help but put this in THAT category. So much news about the death penalty lately, it's driving me to a giggling insanity.

Utah Officials Look for Firing Squad